South Sudan, one of two African nations competing in basketball at the 2024 Olympics, stunned Puerto Rico 90-79 on Sunday in Paris to earn its first-ever Olympic win.
What the South Sudanese have accomplished on the men’s side this summer is worthy of global praise. Led by Harlem’s Royal Ivey, a Cardozo High School alum and 10-year NBA veteran as head coach, the team nearly upset the Americans in exhibition play and rallied to win its Olympic opener despite having little experience on the international stage.
A case can be made that South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, should not be here in the first place. The men’s team is underfunded, the nation still dealing with the aftershocks of a civil war. Luol Deng, a two-time NBA All-Star and President of South Sudan Basketball, has been funding the program out of pocket for years, according to reports.
Despite qualifying as Africa’s top finisher in last year’s World Cup, South Sudan has no training facility of its own. No indoor courts. The travel conditions the team is forced to endure are far from ideal. They were disrespected, even ahead of their Olympic opener on Sunday, as officials played a national anthem for the wrong African nation.
Yet they continue to overcome. And with an exciting core of Carlik Jones, Marial Shayok, Nuni Omot, Wenyen Gabriel, JT Thor and Khaman Maluach, the future of men’s basketball appears bright in South Sudan.
“Here we are now yet we still have so much to gain,” Deng said in a statement posted on social media.
“For many years, the narrative has always been about what Africa lacks. Our story is about what South Sudan has & the support we are receiving. Our government has been very supportive. I believe they will continue to support, not only basketball but also the youth in general.”
Team USA, and the rest of the world, cannot afford to overlook South Sudan going forward. After dismantling Serbia on Saturday, the Americans’ second game of group play will be a highly-anticipated rematch on Wednesday against the same South Sudan team they barely outlasted in exhibition play, 101-100.
Team USA trailed for most of the game, only to be rescued by LeBron James, who knocked down a game-winning shot with eight seconds left. Former Philadelphia 76ers draft pick Shayok finished with 24 points for South Sudan in the loss.
“It’s an incredible accomplishment, given the strife in that region for so long, so many refugees coming to the United States and other countries for the last few decades, rebuilding lives, and to build a basketball federation amidst the war and the difficulty,” said Team USA head coach Steve Kerr, via The Associated Press. “And then for Royal and his staff to put together a really good team that plays modern basketball — stretch the floor, shoot 3s, attack the rim, it’s pretty dramatic and remarkable.”
South Sudan, now with an Olympic victory under its belt, enters more confident than it was before. There is no better way to put a blossoming country on the map, in basketball, than by beating the Americans at their own game.
The last time an African team won against the Americans was 1952. African teams have since lost 33 games in a row, so while momentum is on their side, history is not.
“We have appropriate fear of everybody,” Stephen Curry told The Athletic’s Joe Vardon in Paris.
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